Monsoon
by Flying Iridescent Llamas
Summary: It's impossible to avoid nature in Alola, but maybe that's for the best. Gladion just wishes that other people would take the hint from and leave him be, since he's gone through the effort to put a storm between himself and civilization. Unfortunately for him, Hau is a better friend than deserves. (Written for theme #22, "Mother Nature", first in the Isolation series)


A/N: I guess it needs to be said, but the currently prevailing theory is that Mohn is Lillie and Gladion's father. The theory goes that after being sucked into a wormhole, he somehow made his way out into the Poke Pelago. Probably going to be turned into a sporadically update series in the future.

Growing up in Alola meant growing up with nature, even if it meant just seeing or hearing it from a sterile white bedroom. Gladion had always been aware, to some extent, of the monsoons that viciously whipped Alola's shores for months at a time, but had only heard the thunder through the thick walls of the mansion or felt the chill through the glass of his bedroom window. Lillie had escaped once outside, to dance, before their mother had caught her, but that had been in a kinder time. Ever then, their mother kept them indoors and away from the storms, afraid for her children and probably for good reason: being in the middle of the ocean was near disastrous when the worst of the weather hit.

When he'd escaped with Null, they were fortunate to remain inland for most of the season, instead of on a floating platform at sea like before. The storms had been interesting (he'd caught a cold after standing out in the middle of one for hours, just to experience the sensation), but most were unremarkable.

Now, though, he was slightly worried. After returning to Alola after years away, he had settled (hopefully temporarily) in the Poke Pelago. Lillie had asked him to take over as the caretaker for the small chain of islands while Mohn worked with the newly reformed Aether Foundation once more to help stabilize the spatial anomalies common in the region. It had taken no small amount of convincing for both Gladion and Mohn. Mohn was reluctant to once again take up the research that had so badly damaged his family and was hesitant about reconnecting with his children after seemingly abandoning them to their fate at the hands of his crazed wife after stepping through a wormhole. Gladion was understandably skittish at the prospect of dealing with parental figures even almost a decade after everything had blown up and was content with the idea of just floating around Alola with Silvally after his return.

Eventually, Lillie had worn both of them down. Gladion had spent a couple weeks prior to the monsoon season learning the ins and outs of caring for the islands and their inhabitants with his father. The entire ordeal had been painfully awkward. Mohn's usually cheerful nature had disappeared, leaving a quiet, shamed man behind, much like Gladion remembered him from their last months spent together during his childhood before Mohn had disappeared from their lives. Occasionally when he was interacting with Pokemon, Gladion saw his father smile and he could almost overlay his sister's own smile on top of it. It hurt more than he cared to admit, especially when he wondered if he had Lusamine's smile.

Dear Arceus, he hoped not.

The weeks passed quickly enough, though, and Gladion was left to care for the islands in what Mohn had called the "quiet season". With the monsoons approaching, Mohne and his partner in crime Molayne had encouraged trainers to keep most of their Pokemon stored in the PC, out of harm's way as the violent storms raged. Still, there was a need for a caretaker on the islands, if only for the wild Pokemon that had nowhere to go during the monsoons.

It was simple enough and Gladion had to admit he enjoyed the islands after Mohn had left for the Foundation, if only for the tranquility that came from being alone. He'd only seen another person around two weeks ago, when the Seafolk who usually docked at Poni Island stopped by to help him ground the small raft hut as they had done every year with Mohn to ensure it wasn't battered or destroyed by the wild waves. Lillie had called him almost daily and the occasional letter from idiotic Hau found its way to the islands (to be read carefully and stored in a box under the bed with all the other letters he'd received over the years, mostly from Hau). Other than that, it had just been him, Silvally, and the small amount of Pokemon remaining on the island until Lillie had called him one morning, frantic.

"There's a rather large storm headed for the Poke Pelago on our radars," she told him. "The Pokemon should be safe in the caves or the shelters Dad constructed for them, but we're worried that the hut may not be able to withstand the wind or that we might not be able to get help to you or Silvally for a while."

It's okay to come back if you need to, we miss you, is what she was really saying. Mohn, with all of his awkwardness shining through in the background of the call, also looked extremely concerned.

It was too much.

Gladion shook his head and told them "I'll be fine", before hanging up and silencing Lillie's protests. He unfastened the device and chucked it on the mattress he'd moved down from the loft after Mohn had left, not content to climb a rickety ladder every time he wanted to sleep.

He ignored the repeated rings as he tied back his hair at his neck (it had gotten long while traveling and he was too lazy to cut it) and jerked his head at Silvally as he made to exit the small hut. It looked between him and the ringing Xtransceiver on the bed, pointedly staring at him as if to say, "Don't be an antisocial prick, answer your sister's call!"

Ignoring the stare, Gladion gestured towards the door once more. Silvally huffed and slowly got up from its makeshift bed, which filled most of the small hut, and followed him outside. It patiently waited as Gladion slung a makeshift harness with buckets hanging from it before grabbing his own and heading towards the beach. He pointedly ignored the grey swell of clouds on the horizon.

One of the tasks Mohn had entrusted him with was the relocation of the Pyukumuku that washed up on the beach regularly. While most of the time it was acceptable to hurl the poor Pokemon back into the sea with as much strength as he could muster, Mohn had told him the Pyukumuku stranded on the shore before storms weren't there by chance. They sought reprieve from the violent ocean that would toss them into a Corsola's spines or the waiting grasp of more agile predators able to navigate the rough waters. Gladion was content to let nature take its course but Mohn's soft heart had gotten to him at some point.

Now it was an excuse to avoid his sister's calls.

He kept an eye on the horizon as he worked. It was possible to hit all the islands and relocate the Pyukumuku to the tidepools inside the caves of Isle Aphun before the storm hit too hard, he thought as he picked up a squirming Pyukumuku and plopped in one of the buckets. He ignored the muffled protest from it as he moved down the beach.

Silvally, too, was collecting the Pyukumuku. It carefully plucked them up from the sand in its large mouth before transplanting them into the buckets on its back. Gladion had been surprised the first time it aided him with the small creatures, as both he and Mohn had speculated about it troubling (or eating) some of the islands' inhabitants. Instead, Silvally seemed more interested in the beans that grew on the main island than eating any of the other Pokemon. It had also attempted to engage the other Pokemon living on the islands in some sort of play, but most were too terrified of the amalgamate to stick around long. However, Gladion once found himself left cleaning up fallen trees and hurled boulders after Silvally had provoked the local Bewear population.

By the time he and Silvally made it to Aphun with their buckets full of startled Pyukumuku, rain had started to pour down in large, heavy drops. Gladion spared a glance back at their small motor boat as they entered the caves, hoping it wouldn't capsize from the rain or waves as they dumped out the buckets. Inside the caves, Silvally growled a low warning at a family of Bewears cuddling their Stufful cubs as they headed further back into the cave system. Gladion kicked out at it in warning, which Silvally easily sidestepped. The message was clear, though, and Silvally left the Bewears alone as Gladion dumped out the buckets. Luckily for the Pyukumuku, the Bewears would scare off any potential predators looking for an easy meal during the storm until Gladion returned for them. Not many Pokemon (except Silvally, damn its stubborn pride) cared to deal with the temperamental Bewears, so the tide pools here were as safe as they were going to get.

Gladion finished as quickly as he could, avoiding eye contact with the Strong Arm Pokemon as much as he could. While Mohn was beloved by both the tame and wild Pokemon of the islands, only a grudging tolerance was extended towards his son. The particular tolerance of these Bewears had been severely tested by Silvally and Gladion was a fan of not having his spine snapped.

Though the waves were more violent than they were before they had entered the caves, Gladion was relieved to see the boat hadn't capsized. Still, he was ankle deep in water when he stepped into it and his stomach turned when Silvally hopped in and the boat rocked almost too far to one side.

When they reached the main island once more and Gladion jumped out of the boat to haul it to shore, the current almost swept his feet out from beneath him. Silvally, still huffy about the events earlier, merely stood watch as Gladion wrestled the boat onto the sand. He was just about to order it back to the hut if it wasn't going to be any help when he heard a low growl erupt from the Pokemon's throat. Gladion turned and froze.

A cloaked figure stood a ways down the beach from them, having stepped out from the raft hut. It took a step towards them and before Gladion could say a word, Silvally took off down the beach with an angry screech tearing from its throat. Gladion dropped the rope attached to the boat's bow and sprinted after it immediately. While he couldn't fault Silvally's caution towards strangers (he felt much the same way, if he was going to be honest), Silvally's front talons would tear the stranger to shreds if not stopped, regardless if the person was friend or foe.

"Silvally, back off!" he shouted against the scream of the wind as he ran. The Pokemon jumped back, but Gladion could see the damage had been done. The figure curled on their side and clutched their stomach as dark liquid leaked between their fingers to the sand below. Gladion landed on his knees next to the stranger and yanked back the hood.

The man underneath smiled up at him, though his teeth were clenched in pain.

"Alola, Gladion. It's been a while."

Gladion blinked and did a double take at the man lying in the sand.

"Hau?"

"The one and only, friend!"

Swearing, Gladion yelled at Silvally to tug the boat fully onto the shore as he reached down to help Hau sling an arm around his shoulders. Hau, to his credit, only gave a small grunt from the pain. Together they stumbled back to the hut with Gladion struggling to support the taller (when did he get so tall?) man's weight. He led his old friend to the small bed and let him slump down on it before turning to address the Pokemon that had followed behind him. Sufficiently shamed at attacking an old ally, Silvally went into its ball with little complaint. Gladion then rounded on Hau.

"What are you doing here? Are you nuts?" he hissed. Hau laughed hoarsely and went to link his hands behind his head in a familiar gesture, but stopped and winced in pain.

Instead he said, "What? I couldn't come see an old friend?"

Gladion's silence as he dug through one of the supply cabinets let Hau know his joking would get him nowhere with the other man that day. He sighed.

"Lillie called and asked me to check on you," he admitted as Gladion approached him with the first aid kit. He tossed the soaked cloak on the floor and shrugged off his torn shirt and held it to his stomach as Gladion dug through the kit. "She was worried and hoped maybe I could convince you to leave the Pelago before the storm hit."

"Well, you can see how well that worked out," Gladion grumbled as he swatted Hau's hands away from the wound. "I said I would be fine. You're both idiots, and you should have left when you had the chance."

Hau chuckled. His voice was much deeper than Gladion remembered, but he supposed his was probably different too after almost a decade. He tried to focus on tending to Hau's injury instead of getting caught up in sentiment, but Hau had other ideas. As Gladion started to apply anesthetic around the wound to prepare it for the stitches to come, he felt Hau's hand smooth over the top of his head and flinched when Hau tugged the tie from his hair, letting the hair fall loose around his face.

"Do you mind?" he snapped. "If you haven't noticed, I'm trying to stitch you up, you idiot!"

Hau only laughed again. Gladion sighed and swept his hair to one side as he threaded the needle.

"It looks good, you know." Gladion peered up at Hau, but said nothing. Obviously, he was inspired to new heights of idiocy by his injury.

Thunder rumbled outside and any silence in the hut was drowned out by the drumming of the rain. Despite the topical anesthetic, Hau still flinched when the needle first sunk into his skin. Gladion murmured a quiet apology as Hau tightly gripped one of his shoulders out of pain. Comfort had never been Gladion's strong suit, but he decided to try to keep his friend's mind off the pain.

"So you're the Kahuna of Melemele Island now, I hear," he said quietly as he pull the first stitch through. The grip on his shoulder lessened slightly.

"Yeah, it happened about a year ago," Hau said, and hissed in pain as the needle plunged back into his skin. "Grandpa finally called it quits and Ilima was posed to take over for him, but Tapu Koko chose me instead, for some reason. Ilima was pretty peeved."

"I can imagine," Gladion mtutered. From what he knew of the man, Ilima was usually at the same level of intensity when it came to battles when he was. It was no surprise that the Trial Captain was angry at being passed over after throwing himself at the role.

"Where did you hear about that from? Lillie?" Hau suddenly asked. Gladion shook his head.

"You told me, you idiot. In the letters you wrote."

"I didn't think you actually got any of them. You never wrote back."

A small coil of guilt curled tightly around Gladion's stomach as he silently pulled a few more stitches through.

"I didn't know what to write back," he admitted softly as he cut the excess thread off of the jagged stitches. They weren't perfect, but they would do for now, until Hau could get better care back on the mainland. "Everyone was busy making something of themselves here and I was just wandering around the world, lost. I haven't even become stronger like I said I would. I'm just the same and you're all amazing."

Gladion started to wrap bandages around Hau's stomach, but was stopped when a hand firmly caught his wrist.

"If there's something I've learned these past few years, Gladion, it's that you won't go unchanged by the experiences in your life. I think you've become amazing in your own way and you're not giving Silvally and yourself enough credit. And besides-" he reached out and ruffled Gladion's hair, "-I didn't care about hearing how strong you were. I just wanted to know that one of my best friends was alright."

The tips of Gladion's ears turned pink and he mumbled something that sounded suspiciously like "sappy idiot" as he continued to wrap the bandages around Hau. His friend leaned over him to grab another roll and started to tend to a smaller cut on his arm.

"I'm sorry about Silvally, by the way," Gladion said as he secured the bandage and sat back on his heels. "We weren't expecting any visitors and it's pretty territorial about this stupid hut. It probably didn't recognize you either…"

Hau shook his head and waved it off. "It's fine. I didn't exactly announce myself either. I just stood there, probably looking pretty ominous-"

"Like you could ever look more dangerous than a Stufful!"

"-and I probably wouldn't have recognized you either, if you hadn't been wearing your usual grimace." Hau grinned as Gladion scowled at him. "Yeah, that one!"

"You're not funny," Gladion told him.

"You're right, I'm hilarious!" Hau said, causing Gladion to scowl even harder. "Honestly though, you've changed a lot Gladion."

"So have you. You've turned into a big, monstrous brute like your grandfather."

Hau flexed his good arm and winked. Gladion rolled his eyes.

"Being a kahuna doesn't just mean having a strong team! You gotta be just as strong, too! Besides, it certainly doesn't hurt my chances with some of the visitors on the island."

Gladion snorted.

"Yeah, but the amount of malasada you eat might! You'll have a gut like old Hala soon enough!"

Hau huffed and his good arm shot out, grabbing Gladion around the shoulders and hauling him up onto the bed before putting him a headlock. Gladion yelped in surprise and thrashed as Hau ground his knuckles down hard onto his head.

"Hau, stop! Let me go!"

"Nope! It's been way too long since you've had someone knock your ego down a few pegs!"

Gladion thrashed his way out of the headlock, but Hau descended on him with a vengeance, digging his fingers into the other man's sides. Gladion let out a strangled laugh and kicked out, nailing Hau in the stomach and knocking him off the bed. Hau groaned as he hit the floor and Gladion remembered too late that he'd just stitched up his friend. He scooted over to the edge of the bed and peered over, pushing the long hair out of his face.

"Are you okay?" he asked a little breathlessly, still gasping from being tickled. Hau pushed himself up on his knees and leaned on the bed, forehead resting on the sheets. He looked a bit pale.

"I'll be fine," he said quietly, and gave Gladion a small grin. "At least now I know even the great Gladion is ticklish like us mere mortals."

Glaidon huffed and tossed his head to get his hair out of his face once more. Hau was obviously fine if he was picking on it. He rolled over with his back to Hau, ignoring his as the man poked his back and whined about being bullied by him and Silvally. He felt the small mattress dip as Hau hauled himself up on it and sat, leaning against Gladion's back. They both jumped when thunder suddenly shook the hut, but only Hau laughed.

"And now I can add being a little scared of thunder to that list," he crowed triumphantly. Gladion reached behind him to swat Hau lightly. He didn't want a repeat of accidentally hurting him more than he already was. Hau peered over his shoulder and Gladion and raised an eyebrow.

"What?"  
"I meant what I said earlier. You've definitely grown up since the last time I saw you, and the hair definitely adds to the whole "brooding, edgy, and handsome" thing you've got going on. People are gonna go nuts when they see you. By the way, did you meet anyone when you were abroad? Surely someone's gotta have a thing for drama queens."

"Are we seriously talking about this, Hau? What the hell?"

"Well, unless you have a better suggestion of things to do until the storm lets up, I wanna catch up with a friend I haven't been able to talk to in years."

Gladion sighed and got off the bed. Hau contentedly fell back in his spot and watched his friend putter around the cabin, upside down.

"I'm gonna guess that's a no, then."

Gladion balled up a shirt and threw it at his face, but Hau caught it.

"Hey, no need to get testy," he said as he sat up and pulled the shirt on. Hau resettled on his uninjured side with his head propped up in his hand. "I haven't really met anyone, either."

"I thought you said you were flirting with visitors," Gladion pointed out as he quickly shed his damp shirt. He hurriedly pulled the dry one on as Hau's eyes caught on the scars littering his back and stomach. That was one story his nosy but well intentioned friend didn't need to know.

"Yeah, but it's just flirting," Hau said, and yawned. "It's nothing serious. Most of them leave within a few weeks anyway."

"What about our ever prevailing champion?" Gladion asked as he kicked the blankets scattered around the hut towards the bed. Silvally had appropriated most of the spare bedding Mohn left behind for its own pseudo-nest it slept in most nights. It would have probably tried to claim the bed for itself, too, if it could lay on it without almost breaking it.

"No way, Lillie is-" Hau started before slapping a hand over his mouth, but it was too late. Gladion's head snapped up and he treated his friend to an icy glare.

"My sister is what now?" he demanded lowly, almost growling. Hau had a clear look of terror on his face.

"It's nothing serious, really. They've just been seeing each other casually for a few years now-" Gladion's glare turned murderous, "-and I'm sure she would have told you sooner or later, but can you blame her for keeping it quiet when you reacted like this? I mean, she has more right to do this to you anyway since you're the younger twin, but-"

"Hau. Just shut up." Gladion kicked a pillow violently and it satisfyingly smacked against the mattress before falling atop the blankets bunched up on the floor. He reached his left hand to press it against his face in an old, agitated tic. Without another word, he flopped down on the blankets and sighed as his hair fanned out and settled around his head. This was not how he planned on this day going.

Hau peeked over the side of the bed.

"Are you sleeping down there?"

"Obviously."

"I can sleep on the-"

` "No."

Hau huffed in annoyance and flopped back down on the bed. Gladion reached up behind him and grabbed the Xtransceiver from the bedside table where it lay, probably have been moved there by Hau in his earlier investigation of the hut. Other than the dozens of missed calls and messages from his sister, the only thing of note was that there wasn't a signal. It was probably blocked by the raging storm outside. What little sunlight had lit up the hut before was now completely gone. The only thing he could see was a faint green glow from the miniature restoration station, empty of Pokeballs, that was plugged into the wall. It was rarely used, but it was better to be safe than sorry if some Pokemon got into a fight on the islands.

"I guess this is kind of like a sleep over, huh?"

Gladion didn't answer and Hau fell quiet for a bit. He had almost drifted off to sleep when Hau spoke again.

"What was the best place you visited?"

Groaning in frustration, Gladion rolled over on his side to face the bed and glared at where he assumed Hau lay.

"Have heard of something called sleep, Hau?"

He heard a chuckle.

"Once or twice. What's it like? Seriously though if I'm gonna be stuck here, you should catch me up on the last few years."

Instead of answering, Gladion preoccupied himself with rolling himself up in the blankets. Maybe he could pretend not to hear anything else if he got the blankets thick enough and then he could finally go to sleep, because damn it all he was tired after picking up dumb helpless Pokemon all day and dealing with entirely too many emotions. Hau didn't get the hint, though, and Gladion felt something land on the floor next to him.

Why. Why couldn't people just leave him alone to brood in silence. Hau and the others in their little squad were usually the exception when it came to not getting murdered for saying more than five words or touching him, but Gladion's nerves were starting to fray badly from all the stress from the day.

He flinched when Hau touched him, his hand traveling up until it lightly touched his face. Gladion panicked when his fingers brushed against the scar around his eye.

"There you are!"

"Stop!" he snarled and tried to thrash away, but was thwarted by the blankets wrapped around him. Surprisingly, he felt Hau scoot back instead of following him. Gladion burrowed deeper into his blankets, partly ashamed for snapping at his friend (well, snapping at him and actually meaning it), partly overwhelmed as everything from that day came crashing on his head. The scar had just been the tipping point.

He furiously rubbed at his eyes, because even when he was in the middle of a full blown panic attack he was not going to cry, damn it, and tried to steady his breathing.

"Glad?" he heard Hau say quietly.

He let out a soft sound, ripped into a hoarse croak by his throat and probably muffled by the blankets. Hau seemed to have heard him, though.

"I'm sorry. I pushed you too far, didn't I?"

Gladion shook his head, because no, it wasn't necessarily Hau who caused all of this. On any other day, he probably would have been fine with the rough housing and touching and attention. Today was just a hot mess of things, though. Realizing Hau wouldn't be able to see his head shake, he said, "No, not really."

He could almost feel Hau's relief. In Hau's world, the worst offense possible was hurting any of his friends or family, accidental or not. They'd been through something similar to this years ago before he'd left when the occasional phone call from Kanto would turn his day on its head and the smallest intrusion into his space by Hau would either result in a vicious battle or Gladion wouldn't show up to train together for a few weeks. It'd been better in recent years, but he'd also been away from everything and everyone. He wondered if his sister coped in the same way, or if it was just him that was this broken.

"Is this why you weren't answering Lillie earlier?"

"That was the start of it, yeah."

He felt a soft touch on his side. When he didn't object this time, Hau started to peel back the blankets until Gladion emerged from his cocoon like some sort of mutated Butterfree. He could see Hau's smile in the dim light from the restoration station.

"That's better, I'll be able to actually hear you now!"

Gladion pulled a blanket over his head in response, feeling way too exposed. Hau let it stay, thankfully.

"Is there anything that will be able to help?" his friend asked.

"Sleep, probably. I don't think that's happening anytime soon though." Or at least, it wouldn't if his collapsing chest had anything to say about it. He could see Hau grimace and start to pull away slightly, probably feeling guilty about not letting him be earlier. His hand shot out of the blanket and caught Hau's wrist. "Stop. You're fine."

He did stay, at least, and lay back on the gathered blankets. Gladion watched as Hau pulled the clips and tie from his hair and tossed them to the side. His hair tumbled down around his shoulders. Had it been that long before he left? "So, how about we just talk about something different then? Until you're able to sleep?"

"Or you could just get back on the bed. You're injured and need to sleep. I'll be fine."

"Nah, I won't be able to sleep if you're not okay, especially since it's partly my fault," he said and covered Gladion's mouth with his hand before he could object. "You never answered my question from earlier. How about starting there?"

He removed his hand and Gladion glared at him, but pondered the question. He'd never really thought about having a favorite place when he traveled. He wasn't traveling to be a tourist, he was using it as a chance to get stronger with Silvally. But if he had to think about it…

"...there was this place, in Sinnoh," he started softly as he drew the memory to the forefront of his mind. Hau instantly perked up but Gladion ignored him. "It was the weirdest place, and...this is stupid."

"Aww come on, tell me about it! It can't be stupid if you like it!"

Gladion huffed, but continued. "It was in Hearthome City, if you know where that it is. Silvally and I were wandering around after we'd steamrolled through the gym the night before. It was really early in the morning and there weren't many people out yet, but I'd wanted to get a headstart because it was a long way to the next city with a gym, Veilstone. We'd turned down this alley and found this huge building. I don't even have something to compare it to in Alola, there's just nothing like that here.

"Anyway, I decided to take a look inside because big buildings generally mean that there's trainers or resources for trainers, but it wasn't anything like that. There were quite a few people and Pokemon inside, but it was the quietest place I've ever been in. I was about to turn around and leave, but I guess I was really curious. There was a huge stained glass window in the very front of the building and statues depicting some of the legendary Pokemon from the region."

"Was it like one of the shrines we have here, maybe?" Hau asked. Thunder rumbled outside, further away than it had been before.

"Maybe," Gladion replied. "I think so. The people there seemed really curious about Silvally, especially when they saw the RKS System. They gave me some sort of weird slab, saying that Silvally might be able to use it. It's really the only place that I really can say I liked, though. We visited it again before we left the region."

"Have you tried it?"

"No, I never had time. I honestly sort of forgot about it, until you mentioned it."

Hau hummed contemplatively before asking, "Do you still have it?"

"Yeah, I think I know where it is. Hang on-shit!" Gladion tripped over the balled up blankets but managed to catch himself before he hit the floor. He scrambled to his feet and made his way to the set of drawers across the room, ignoring the framed photo on top of it. He felt blindly through the top drawer until he came across a rectangle wrapped in brown paper. He pulled it out of the drawer and made his way back to Hau, but not before swiping a flashlight off the top of the drawers.

Flicking it on revealed Hau had sat up and was leaning against the bed with a blanket around his shoulders. He scooted over and lifted one arm up, offering to share the blanket with Gladion. He hesitated for a moment before carefully setting down next to him. His chest had started to let go of the tight knot it had wrapped itself into sometime during his recollection of the strange building and he knew Hau offered only because he was concerned.

Hau wrapped the blanket tightly around both of their shoulders, pulling Gladion closer in the process, and held the flashlight as Gladion carefully unwrapped the slab. Hau sucked in a breath when the paper was finally pulled away, revealing the scarlet slab.

"Can I?" he asked, and Gladion started to hand it to him. They both flinched and Gladion almost dropped it.

"It's warm," Gladion gasped, studying the otherwise unremarkable tablet that sat in his lap.

"It's not just warm, it's almost burning!" Hau added and reached for it again. Carefully placing it in his own lap, he ran his fingers over it and his brow furrowed. "This is really strange."

"What?"

"It's hard to describe," Hau said as he flipped the tablet over. "I'm getting the same feeling that I get when I'm in the Ruins or dealing directly with Tapu Koko. Look."

He directed the beam of the flashlight down at the bottom of the tablet, where there seemed to be some sort of engraving.

"The rightful bearer of the Plate draws from the Plate it holds," Hau read out. "I'm guessing this is a Plate, then, whatever that means." He tapped a thoughtful finger to his chin as he considered the Plate. He offered it to Gladion once more, who wrapped it back up in the brown paper before setting it on the bedside table. Hau clicked off the flashlight.

"What do you think it is?" Gladion asked.

"Mm, no idea really," Hau replied and leaned his head against his friend's shoulder. Gladion jumped. "Sorry!"

"It's fine, just," Gladion sighed, "warn me next time."

"Does this mean I can keep my head here? You're comfy."

"Fine. Hau, focus. The Plate?"

Hau huffed, warm breath fanning across Gladion's collar bone.

"Like I said, no idea, but I have a feeling it might be connected to whatever legendaries were depicted in that chapel," he mused. "It might be why it feels similar to my connection with Tapu Koko."

They sat in silence. Gladion realized that the rain had finally stopped, even if only briefly.

"Looks like you'll be able to head back in the morning," he said.

"Hopefully, providing Silvally doesn't maul me again." Gladion huffed out a sigh and Hau chuckled. "Are you feeling better?"

"Kinda." Really though, the knot of anxiety in his chest had disappeared almost completely. Gladion didn't totally want to admit it to himself, but maybe Hau's obnoxiously friendly tendencies had helped after all. Reluctantly, he pushed Hau off his shoulder. "Go lay down on the bed, you big oaf. Your side isn't going to thank you in the morning if you sleep down here."

Hau grumbled and reluctantly hauled himself up onto the bed. Gladion stole the already warmed blanket back from him on his way up and curled up in it. He almost thought Hau had immediately fallen asleep until his sleepy voice rumbled out in the darkness.

"'Ey, Gladion?"

"What?"

"I'm really glad you're back. I really missed you."

Gladion didn't respond at first and listened to his friend's breathing even out into quiet snores.

"I missed you too, you idiot."

Come morning, the forecast on the Xtransceiver showed enough of a break in the storm that Hau would be able to head back to the mainland as long as he left in the two hour window it forecasted. Of course, Hau took that as a challenge and insisted on helping Gladion feed the trapped Pyukumuku and clean up the beach of the debris that had washed up the previous night. Finally, though, he pinged the Ride pager and they were left standing together on the beach until a Charizard arrived. Silvally had nudged up against Hau and fussed until he'd hugged it and pushed it away from his (still sore) stomach.

"Do you know where you're headed next, after you're done here?" Hau asked as he held out a rainbow Pokebean to Silvally, careful to keep his hand flat lest he lose fingers to its metal beak.

"No idea. Maybe I'll head to the league and see if I can't unseat the champion."

Hau snorted. "Good luck with that, I can't even do it!"

"That's because you're you. Maybe I'll start with steamrolling your team and go from there."

"Hey!"

Gladion watched as a Charizard lazily circled down from the sky before settling down on the beach. It eyed Silvally, who seemed to be affronted at the appearance of the large Pokemon.

"You should head out before the next wave of the storm blows in, you idiot."

"I know. I just wanted to say that if you're not sure what to do next, you're always welcome to stay with me. I have my own place now and if you wanted to, you can crash with me while we figure out what that Plate is."  
Gladion gave him a small smile.

"Maybe. Now get out of here. The last thing this poor Charizard needs is to end up in the ocean."

"What about me?" Hau protested.

"You'll be fine," Gladion said. "You always are."

Hau stuck out his bottom lip in a pout, but swept Gladion up in his arms for a hug.

"Don't ignore my letters this time," he called as he climbed on the back of the Charizard, "or I'll send your sister after you next time!"

"I'm so afraid. Look at me trembling in my boots."

Hau laughed as the Charizard pushed off the ground with several powerful flaps of its wings. He waved, and Gladion watched as his friend slowly became invisible in the distance against the grey clouds. Fat raindrops started to fall once more and Gladion turned back towards the hut.

"Think he'll make it back okay?" he asked Silvally.

It grumbled in response as it raced ahead of Gladion to escape the rain. He sat on the bed and glanced at the wrapped tablet on the table beside it. He touched the paper wrapping and could faintly feel the warmth from the tablet within.

"What would you think about spending some time on Melemele, Silvally?"


End file.
